Guided Tours for Students

Show your students the past on a guided tour of a Salt Lake City landmark.

Preservation Utah offers guided tours of the Kearns (Utah Governor's) Mansion and the Salt Lake City and County Building designed especially for students. Our friendly docents will help your students uncover the past on these interactive tours.

 

Request a guided tour by contacting  or call (801) 533-0858, extension 104.

 

The Kearns (Utah Governor's) Mansion

Dates Available: Tuesdays and Thursdays in the spring (March - May) and fall (September - October) at 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 
Length of Tour: one hour
Suggested Audience: fourth through seventh grades
Number of Students: twenty maximum per tour
Address: 603 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City 

Thomas and Jennie Kearns spared no expense in building their spectacular home on fashionable South Temple Street. The Kearns Mansion became the dazzling center of elite social life in early 20th-century Utah.

During the Kearns Mansion tour, students will explore basic architectural concepts and the mansion's world-class restoration after a fire in 1993. Please note, the tour includes the mansion's first floor and exterior only. You can download a copy of  the Kearns Mansion Mystery History Guide  to help your students prepare for the tour.

Preservation Utah also offers a self-guided walking tour brochure of South Temple Street that can be used in conjunction with the Kearns Mansion tour. The Time Travel on South Temple brochure is helpful for large groups that require two tour slots. While half the group is in the mansion, the other half can be touring South Temple. The walking tour is also a great compliment to the architecture lessons in the Kearns Mansion Mystery History Teacher's Guide. See the description of Time Travel on South Temple, download a copy, and get more information on requesting this resource.

 

The Salt Lake City and County Building

Dates Available: Weekdays only, year round.
Times Available: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Length of Tour: one hour
Suggested Audience: third through seventh grades
Number of Students: twenty maximum per tour
Address: 451 S. State Street, Salt Lake City

The Salt Lake City and County Building is rich with Utah history. Its past includes the Utah State Constitutional Convention, state-of-the-art nineteenth-century technology, a secret prisoner transport system, and circus parades. Today the building is recognized internationally for the base isolation system that will protect it in an earthquake.

The City and County Building tour begins in the basement with the base isolators and ends in the clock tower high above. Students learn how the building's history and architecture have made it a symbol for Salt Lake City . Preservation Utah will send a copy of Symbol of the City: The City and County Building Teacher's Guide to help you prepare your students for the tour.

Free Public Tours of the City and County Building run every Monday, June through August at noon. Reservations are required.